Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus including a carriage therein, and a method for securing the carriage.
Description of the Related Art
Image forming apparatuses that include a reciprocably movable carriage, such as printers and image scanners, are provided with some measures for preventing the carriage within the apparatus from moving and being damaged due to an impact applied during transportation after shipment from a factory. One of preventive methods therefor is to secure the carriage within the image forming apparatus with use of an adhesive tape. When a user sets up the image forming apparatus after unpacking, the user peels off the tape to remove it.
As another method, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-193237 discusses a method for holding a carriage using a holding member instead of using a tape.
The method for securing the carriage using the tape has such a problem that the adhesive force of the tape is weakened according to a change over time, reducing the capability to hold the carriage. Further, this method also has such a problem that a user has to take time and trouble to deal with the peeled-off tape.
Further, according to the configuration discussed in the above-described Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-193237, when a strong impact force is applied to the carriage during transportation, a hook portion of the holding member may be deformed, thereby releasing an engagement state of the holding member. Further, when a user removes the holding member, the user has to unhook the hook portion of the holding member. Therefore, this method involves such a problem that, especially, if the rigidity of the hook portion is enhanced to improve the holding performance of the holding member, this leads to a reduction in the operability of the hook portion.